(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - November 29, 2011: Pakistan decided Tuesday to boycott a key international conference on Afghanistan next month, ramping up its protest over lethal cross-border NATO air strikes that have plunged US ties into deep crisis.

The decision was taken at a Pakistani cabinet meeting in the eastern city of Lahore, just days after Islamabad confirmed it was mulling its attendance in the German city of Bonn, where Pakistan's participation was considered vital.

"The cabinet has decided not to attend the Bonn meeting," a government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The prime minister's office said the cabinet agreed that "unilateral action" such as Saturday's strike in the tribal district of Mohmand and the May 2 US killing of Osama bin Laden near the capital was "unacceptable".

US-led investigators have been given until December 23 to probe the attacks, threatening to prolong significantly Pakistan's blockade on NATO supplies into Afghanistan implemented in retaliation for the killings.

The US military appointed Brigadier General Stephen Clark, a one-star air force general based in Florida, to lead the investigation into the attack.

The team, set to include a NATO representative, is yet to arrive in Afghanistan but an initial military assessment team went to the border at the weekend after Saturday's catastrophic strike killing 24 Pakistani troops.

The Afghan and Pakistani governments are also being invited to take part. There was no immediate reaction from Islamabad or Kabul, although some analysts voiced surprise that it will take as long as nearly four weeks.

A Western military official in Kabul said the schedule for the findings being delivered was "way quicker" than initially expected.

US-Pakistani ties have been in free fall since a CIA contractor killed two Pakistanis in January and Saturday's attack raises disturbing questions about the extent to which the two allies cooperate with each other.

Islamabad insists that the air strikes were unprovoked, but Afghan and Western officials have reportedly accused Pakistani forces of firing first.

"With the kind of technology available to the US and NATO, it was expected they would be able to do it (the investigation) much earlier, not more than two weeks," Pakistani defence analyst Talat Masood told AFP.

In Pakistan, angry protests over the NATO strikes pushed into a fourth day, with 150-200 people demonstrating in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, setting fire to an American flag and an effigy of NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

The crowd carried banners and shouted: "Those who befriend America are traitors" and "We are ready for jihad", an AFP reporter said.

Pakistan has vowed no more "business as usual" with the United States. In addition to shutting its Afghan border, it has ordered Americans to vacate an air base reportedly used by CIA drones and a review of the alliance.

Yet behind the rhetoric, Islamabad has little wriggle room, being dependent on US aid dollars and fearful of the repercussions for regional security as American troops wind down their presence in Afghanistan in the coming years.

In an interview with CNN, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani stopped short of threatening to break the alliance altogether saying: "That can continue on mutual respect and mutual interest."

White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama believed Saturday's incident was "a tragedy", and said Washington valued what he called an "important cooperative relationship that is also very complicated".

Last time Pakistan closed the border, in September 2010 after up to three soldiers were killed in a similar cross-border raid, it only reopened the route after the United States issued a full apology.

The US military has insisted the war effort in Afghanistan would continue and has sought to minimise the disruption to regular supply lines.

Nearly half of all cargo bound for NATO-led troops runs through Pakistan. Roughly 140,000 foreign troops, including about 97,000 American forces, rely on supplies from the outside to fight the 10-year-old war in Afghanistan.

Yet so far, officials say there has been no sign that Islamabad would bar the US aircraft from flying over Pakistan.

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BREMCOR, Arlington, Va., is being awarded a $21,028,650 modification under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N62470-06-D-4611) to exercise option five for base operation support services at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The work to be performed includes, but not limited to, the following functions: port operations, base support vehicles and equipment, elevator maintenance, equipment maintenance, utilities, environmental, transportation, bachelor housing, fire alarms, wastewater, steam, and facility management. Work also provides service calls consisting of repairs of base facilities, utilities, transportation, and fire alarm systems. The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $115,046,778. Work will be performed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and is expected to be completed November 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southeast, Jacksonville, Fla., is the contracting activity.

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Mo., is being awarded a $17,262,617 firm-fixed-price order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-11-G-0001) for the design, development, and installation of engineering change proposal (ECP) 618 retrofit kits for eight Royal Malaysian Air Force F/A-18 aircraft under the Foreign Military Sales Program. This contract action also includes training for ECP 618 and ECP 624, and the installation of other systems that are part of the Malaysian upgrade. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Mo. (70 percent), and Butterworth, Malaysia (30 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

L-3 Communications Link Simulation & Training Division, Arlington, Texas, is being awarded a $13,826,160 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-07-D-0100) for logistics services in support of the C-9 aircraft located at the Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, Wash.; the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point, N.C.; the Joint Reserve Base (JRB) Fort Worth, Texas; and McGuire Air Force Base (AFB), N.J. Services to be provided include site support, inventory management, depot-level support, drop-in maintenance, component repair and overhaul of government-owned inventory, contractor field teams, and replacement of government-owned inventory. Work will be performed at NAS Whidbey Island, Wash. (43 percent); MCAS Cherry Point, N.C. (25 percent), JRB Fort Worth, Texas (17 percent); and McGuire AFB, N.J. (15 percent). Work is expected to be completed in July 2012. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Insitu, Inc., Bingen, Wash., is being awarded an $11,994,145 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-11-C-0061) to exercise an option for operational and maintenance services in support of the ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial Systems. These services will provide electro-optical/infrared and mid-wave infrared imagery in support of Marine Corps operations in Operation Enduring Freedom to provide real-time imagery and data. Work will be performed in Bingen, Wash., and is expected to be completed in January 2012. Contract funds in the amount of $11,994,145 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

Keystone Prepositioning Services, Inc., Bala Cynwyd, Pa., is being awarded an $8,991,957 firm-fixed-price contract for the operation and maintenance of three of Military Sealift Command’s government-owned Maritime Prepositioning Force ships: USNS Sgt. Matej Kocak, USNS Pfc. Eugene A. Obregon, and USNS Maj. Stephen W. Pless. The ships will continue to support at-sea prepositioning of equipment and supplies and surge-sealift requirements for the Department of Defense. This contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $47,403,888. The contract includes four one-year option periods and an annual award fee of up to $125,000 per ship. The contractor can also earn up to $50,000 annually per ship for efforts that result in a reduction in ship energy consumption. Work will be performed at sea worldwide, and is expected to be completed in September 2012. Completion date with all option periods exercised will be September 2016. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with more than 50 proposals solicited via solicitations posted to the Military Sealift Command, Navy Electronic Commerce Online and Federal Business Opportunities websites, with and six offers received. The Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00033-12-C-3116).

AIR FORCE

United Launch Services, L.L.C., Littleton, Colo., is being awarded a $150,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract. This undefinitized contractual action is to provide Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle launch services in support of the fifth Wideband Global Satellite Communication mission. The location of performance is United Launch Services, Littleton, Colo. The Space and Missile Systems Center, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA8811-11-C-0001).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Supply Core, Inc.*, Rockford, Ill., was issued a modification on contract SPM500-05-D-BP06. The award is a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum $32,000,000 maintenance, repair, and operations prime vendor for the Japan region, award of an eight-month bridge contract. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. There were six responses to the Web-solicitation. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012 Defense Working Capital Funds. The date of performance completion is July 31, 2012. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.

Infrastructure Defense Technologies, L.L.C.*, Belvidere, Ill., was issued a modification exercising option year one on contract SPM8EG-11-D-0003. The award is a fixed-price with economic price adjustment, long-term indefinite quantity contract with a maximum $28,300,468 for metal revetments. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. There were three responses to the Defense Logistics Agency Internet Bid Board System solicitation. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012 Defense Capital Revolving Funds. The date of performance completion is Dec. 28, 2012. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity.

Oregon Freeze Dry*, Albany, Ore., was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum $13,085,154 for granola with milk and blueberries and granola with milk and banana for unitized group ration express. There are no other locations of performance. Using services are Army and Marine Corps. There was one response to the Web solicitation. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2012 Defense Working Capital Funds. The date of performance completion is Nov. 28, 2014. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM-3S1-12-D-Z195).

DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY

On Nov. 22, Claraview, a division of Teradata, Reston, Va., was awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract not-to-exceed ceiling price of $27,016,520 for continuation of system life cycle support services for data management/enterprise data warehouse/business intelligence environments. The period of performance is for a base period of Jan. 1, 2012 through May 31, 2012 and four one-year option periods. The period of performance for option year one is June 1, 2012 through May 31, 2013; option year two is June 1, 2013 through May 31, 2014; option year three is June 1, 2014 through May 31, 2015; and option year four is June 1, 2015 through May 31, 2016. Performance will be at Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Lee, Va. The solicitation was issued as a full and open competitive action pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304, 41 U.S.C. 253, and FAR 6.101(b). Solicitation HC1028-10-R-2038 was posted at Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization Contracting Opportunities website and posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website Aug. 30, 2010, four offers were received. During the subsequent corrective action, two offers were re-evaluated. Claraview is a large business. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., is the contracting activity (HC1028-12-D-0003).

DEFENSE HUMAN RESOURCE ACTIVITY

HP Enterprise Services, L.L.C., Herndon, Va., is being awarded an estimated $22,638,387 firm-fixed price, requirements contract for the Defense Manpower Data Center’s user support. Work will be performed worldwide and is expected to be completed in November 2012. Contract funds will be obligated on individual task orders that will be placed in fiscal 2012. This requirement was advertised on the Federal Business Opportunities website on a sole-source basis. One bid was received. The Defense Human Resources Activity Procurement Support Office, Alexandria, Va., is the contracting activity (H98210-12-D-0001).